


Dial M for Memory

by Brate



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst and Humor, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-06 00:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15875066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brate/pseuds/Brate
Summary: Yet another amnesia story in the Pegasus Galaxy.





	Dial M for Memory

"...and that's when Jeannie decided I was no longer allowed in her room. She put up a sign and everything. Of course, that only lasted for a week before I—"

Rodney McKay's mouth snapped shut when he realized John Sheppard's eyes were open and looking at him.

"Finally! It's about time you woke up. It's not like I have anything better to do than sit by your bedside and talk. No wait, I actually have a number of vital things I could be doing that would undoubtedly save all of our lives but instead, I'm sitting on this—quite frankly—horrendously uncomfortable chair, waiting for you to grace us with your presence." 

He paused, waiting for John's snarky comeback.

"Who's Jeannie?" John asked.

That was...not what Rodney had been expecting. "She's my sister."

"Oh." John nodded. 

Rodney narrowed his eyes at John, knowing the answer before he even asked, "What's my name?"

"Um...." 

Heart sinking, Rodney rolled his eyes and called out, "Carson! We have a Code M!" 

*****

Through the open door, Rodney could barely see John under the sea of medical professionals—poking, prodding, and asking him questions which he probably tried to answer as best he could.

Finally, Dr. Carson Beckett patted Sheppard on the knee and came out to the waiting area to Rodney's side. "You were right," he confirmed.

"How bad is it?" Rodney leaned to the side to catch a glimpse of the patient and whined, "Do we have to wear the nametags again?" He hated the nametags.

"It's a mild case, relatively speaking. He'll be fine. He had a few things shuffled around, but from what Teyla said about the Takoti, it should settle within 36-48 hours." 

The Takoti's only defensive weapon was a ridiculous machine they had acquired that temporarily removed chunks of the victim's memory. _Why do we only find out about this stuff after the fact? And why won't they tell us where they got it?_

"What do we do about this in the meantime?" Rodney demanded. 

"He's lost the last couple years, but has retained his identity and most of his career, so he shouldn't be a danger to himself or Atlantis. We can let him go as long as he has a guide."

Rodney narrowed his eyes at Carson. "Please don't make me his seeing eye dog."

"Do you want Ronon to do it?"

"No, that would be disastrous. And Teyla won't after last time."

"You'll be fine, Lassie."

"Keep that up and I'll make sure you never have another hot shower again." Rodney snarled. He sighed, running a hand down his face. "Is any other part of him broken? I don't want him dropping dead of a coronary in the hallway or something."

"He's fit as a fiddle."

"Except for not remembering any of us."

"Aye, except for that." Carson patted him on the arm and walked away.

So Rodney was officially on Sheppard duty. He'd have to entertain and distract John for up to two days until whatever the Takoti had done wore off. 

John yelled from the other room, "Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!"

Looking around, Rodney saw that the medical staff had cleared out, leaving him to explain. Had he lost the rock-paper-scissors round no one told him about? His life, really. He stuck his head around the corner.

Before he could say a word, Sheppard asked, "So where the hell am I? This doesn't look like any military hospital I've ever seen. Way too shiny; way too pretty."

"Oh, yes. Well, um...I'm going to explain just as soon as you read this."

Rodney handed John a pamphlet: "So You've Lost Your Memory." Because this happened so frequently they needed a fricking pamphlet. Zelenka was working on getting Weir to allow them to record a short film, kind of like the training films HR used to torture new employees.

John took it from him, flipping through it with a skeptical brow. He didn't appear to think much of it. After a long, slightly tense pause, he asked, "Are you shitting me with this?"

"What? Why would I do that?"

"How would I know? I don't even know you."

"Yes, actually you do," Rodney shot back, "you just don't remember it. Like it said in the pamphlet, if you would've read it a little more carefully. Anyway," he steamrolled over when John looked like he was going to interrupt, "my name is Rodney McKay, and this is actually..." Rodney just went for it. "...this is an alien city in another galaxy."

"Really?" John grinned widely. "Cool."

"You believe me?"

"Like you said, why would you lie?" Sheppard looked around. "So am I under arrest or anything, or can I get out of here?"

"Uh, yeah, you can go, but because of your," Rodney swirled his hand around his head, "condition, I have to accompany you everywhere."

Sheppard jumped off the bed and said, "Great, let's go!"

Rodney held his hands over his eyes and sighed. "We should probably stop by your quarters and get you some clothes."

*****

Once Sheppard was properly outfitted, Rodney suggested hitting the mess. John was agreeable. Actually, he was too agreeable. It was unnerving. They entered the mess hall and headed to the food line.

Notice had already gone out over the intercom, informing everyone Colonel Sheppard had Level Four amnesia. They'd found it was best not to overwhelm those suffering memory loss. That way no one would try to interact with the colonel unless he approached them or Rodney signaled it was okay. 

Of course, Ronon had never paid much attention to details, so when he came up to Sheppard and slapped him on the back, startling him, John reacted. 

Almost instantly, Ronon was on the ground with his arm twisted to the side and John's foot pressed against his neck. 

Rodney had to shake off a feeling of awe, and explain, "Ronon is on our team; you should probably let him go."

John released Ronon immediately and started to apologize, offering a hand to help him up. Ronon laughed and hugged John, spouting some crap about warrior brothers before wandering off to get some food.

"Don't try that with Teyla," Rodney warned Sheppard, nodding to the table where their other teammate sat. "She'll kick your ass."

"I'll try to remember that," John said, dryly, eyes twinkling. 

Rodney felt his lips quirk. "Maybe you should write it down."

"Good advice. But can I be trusted with a pen?"

Rodney faked thinking. "Maybe start with a crayon—less risky."

Sheppard laughed and started to load his tray with a variety of food.

Rodney followed along behind. It was really weird to see Sheppard without all the guilt and/or stress he usually carried around with him. At the same time, Rodney felt lucky to catch a glimpse of a John Sheppard who didn't have quite so much baggage.

Though, even now, Rodney could sense John still had his shields up. He seemed to keep a wary eye on everyone, didn't like his back exposed. So even without the Pegasus Galaxy Guilt, he obviously hadn't forgotten everything else that had brought him to this point. 

Once their trays were loaded, Rodney steered Sheppard over to their usual table; Ronon had already taken his place beside Teyla. After they sat, Rodney pointed at the Athosian. "That's Teyla."

"John," Sheppard introduced himself.

Teyla valiantly kept her smile polite. "I am aware."

"Oh yeah, sure." John took a huge bite of meatloaf to cover his embarrassment. "So you guys are on our team?" he asked after swallowing. 

"Yes."

"And you're aliens?" John ventured warily.

"We both are, yes," Teyla responded placidly.

"Hmm. Not really how I pictured aliens, to be honest."

Teyla lifted a brow. "And how did you picture us?"

"Greener."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "You and your Kirk fantasies."

John pointed a finger at Rodney. " _Star Trek_ is a valid life choice."

"Spock rules," Ronon grunted.

Which led to a lively debate that carried them through the meal. Their plates almost emptied, Rodney tried to think of something he could do with John. Usual activity: him begging or cajoling Sheppard into turning things on with his Ancient gene would probably result in an explosion. And not a fun one, either. 

He wasn't about to let Ronon "borrow" John. Most likely they'd end up in the gym. Rodney didn't trust Ronon not to accidentally knock something loose—adding physical damage to the psychological one. Teyla would probably have John meditate, sending Sheppard straight into a coma. Who knows if he'd ever wake up?

Jumpers were out. Atlantis would surely let her boyfriend wrest control of the ship, whether he recalled how to fly or not. Driving range? Absolutely not. Sitting for hours while Sheppard whacked tiny balls into the sea was close to his vision of hell. So they'd start small. "Do you want to take a tour?"

John nodded eagerly, shoving the last of his food into his mouth as if Rodney would rescind the offer if he took his time. "Let's go."

Rodney suppressed a grin and said, "Come on, I'll show you around."

Surprisingly, John quickly acclimated to the city, unerringly knowing his way around once shown, and eager to see as much as possible. Rodney called a halt to the tour when he noticed John was flagging. He maneuvered them to John's quarters and stayed for a couple rounds of cribbage—which, thankfully, John remembered how to play.

Since John was struggling to keep his eyes open, Rodney said, "That's it for me. I'll come get you tomorrow morning for breakfast, then we'll hit the north pier."

John answered with a playful salute as Rodney walked out the door.

*****

Painfully early the next morning, Rodney made his way to Sheppard's quarters. Rodney knew John had insomnia at times—certainly losing his memory wasn't going to help with that. Arriving at John's door, he rang Atlantis' version of a doorbell. He waited a bit then rang again. After the second summons received no answer, he let himself in.

John wasn't there. Rodney made himself do a full circuit of the room—bathroom and under the bed included—as if John might have been playing a ridiculous game of hide and seek. 

Rodney told himself there was no reason to panic. He radioed Carson to ask if he'd brought John in for more testing. He stomach plummeted when the Scottish doctor said he'd not seen the colonel since the day before. Rodney called Teyla and Ronon in quick succession, receiving a negative answer from them as well.

"I'll meet you in the control room," Rodney told them. Wasting no time, he headed for the nearest transporter.

*****

Rodney was on his third scan of Atlantis when Elizabeth Weir came to stand beside him. "What do we know?"

Trying not to release the hysterical chuckle threatening to break loose, Rodney said, "Well, we know Colonel Sheppard is nowhere to be found. He no longer seems to be on Atlantis."

"How can that be?"

"It can't," Rodney said, barely able to get the words out. He cursed himself and everyone else for taking such a humorous view of Sheppard's memory loss. If they'd taken it seriously from the start, he might not be missing now. 

Ronon and Teyla stepped forward to join the discussion, looking as useless as Rodney felt.

Elizabeth turned to face the newly arriving doctor. "Carson?"

"I've studied the scans again, and as far as I can tell, Colonel Sheppard is in perfect health."

"Except for not recalling anything about us or Atlantis," Rodney added.

"Aye," Carson confirmed.

"Do you have an estimate of when his memory should return?" she asked, far too calmly for Rodney's liking.

"According to the Takoti, his brain should reset, as it were, by early tomorrow morning."

Teyla said, "So if we do not find him before this time, he may find his way back to us himself?" 

"Could we maybe jumpstart his memory?" Rodney asked eagerly.

"I know you like to make fun of the medical profession," Carson snapped, "but I sincerely hope you realize we don't normally 'jumpstart' people."

"Technically, a defibrillator is a jumpstart to the heart," Rodney offered.

Carson stared at him a long moment before turning back to Weir. "I'm going to leave. I'll prepare a team in case we're needed."

Rodney narrowed his eyes at Carson's retreating back. "I don't think he's taking this seriously." 

Elizabeth soothed, "I assure you, we're doing everything in our power to find Colonel Sheppard. There's no reason to panic."

"Are you waiting for a better opportunity? It's a perfect time to panic!" Rodney snapped.

"Uh, sir...ma'am?"

Rodney swallowed the rest of his tirade as Chuck waved them over.

"I found an unusual reading in the southwest corner of hub four," the gate tech reported.

"What's unusual about it?" Elizabeth asked. 

"There seems to be a blank spot in the scans."

"What? That's not possible. Let me look." Rodney's hands flew over the console, zeroing in on the anomaly. "It's a dead spot," he finally confirmed.

"As you say, sir," Chuck said.

"Has that section been cleared?" Ronon asked.

Rodney nodded. "It's been cleared for safety but it hasn't been searched yet. No telling what's there." 

"I want you three to take a Marine escort and check it out," Elizabeth ordered.

Rodney didn't need to be told twice. He hurried after Ronon and Teyla, already headed to the armory. In less than ten minutes, they were ready to go and loaded for bear—honestly, at this point, it wouldn't surprise Rodney if there were an Atlantean bear loose somewhere in the city. Couldn't be crazier than space vampires.

*****

They took the transporter to the nearest point to the dead zone, which was still too far away in Rodney's estimation. Ronon took the lead, two Marines right behind. Rodney was in the middle, Teyla at his six, with a couple more Marines in the rear. 

As they made their way through the bowels of Atlantis, Rodney couldn't help but flash back to the nanovirus incident the previous year when he'd lost five of his people—Johnson, Wagner, Dumais, Peterson, Hays—and the thought that he had lost far too many others since. He didn't want to add Sheppard's name to that ever-growing list. 

Rodney had an endless refrain of _find him find him find him_ running through his thoughts. He was mentally wrestling with himself to keep from racing past everyone to reach their destination and ensure the safety of his friend. That's what it boiled down to: Sheppard wasn't just his team leader, he was one of Rodney's best friends, and Rodney was itching to do something to make sure it stayed that way. 

When they got closer to the target, they slowed, and the soldiers took flanking positions. Rodney lost the battle with himself and moved forward, directly behind Ronon, ignoring Sergeant What's-his-face's attempts to shoo him back. 

The whole group stopped as Ronon signaled them to a halt.

"What is it?" Rodney asked.

"That's the place," Ronon said, pointing. 

It looked like every other door they'd passed. They tried to key into the room, but it wouldn't open. Rodney got his kit out and started to work on it.

"Could it be locked out of concern, such as a quarantine?" Teyla asked. 

Rodney shook his head. "Doesn't seem to be. It's almost as though it's struggling to open. It's trying, but the connections aren't there."

"Let me at it." Ronon stepped forward, put his hands on the door, and strained to slide it open.

Rodney barked, "That's not going to wor—" and snapped his mouth shut when it started moving. "Help him, help him!" he demanded of the Marines standing nearby. They startled and leapt forward, struggling to get the door open, oh so slowly. 

When they'd managed just a few inches, Teyla slipped through. Rodney had to remain outside until it opened farther. Damn that tiny Athosian woman!

Impatiently bouncing between his heels and toes, Rodney bit his tongue, knowing his usual haranguing wouldn't do any good here. As soon as it was wide enough, Rodney pushed past them and into the room. He pulled up short when he saw Teyla seated on the ground with Sheppard's head pillowed on her lap. "Oh my God, is he...?"

"John is merely sleeping," Teyla serenely replied. 

Rodney's whole body seemed to shudder in relief and he stumbled forward, falling to his knees at Sheppard's side. 

"What is he doing here?" Rodney asked gently.

Teyla shook her head. "I do not know. We shall have to wait until he awakens to ask."

"Have you tried to wake him?"

She shook her head again. "If he's this deeply asleep when all of this activity is going on around him...."

Rodney knew what she meant. Normally, Sheppard was alert at the slightest noise or vibration. 

"...he must be in desperate need of rest," Teyla continued.

Rodney didn't fault her logic, but was dying to have some answers. Removing his tac vest, he took off his jacket and placed it over John, ignoring Teyla's knowing smile.

Ronon crouched next to Rodney. "How is he?"

"He seems to be well, just sleeping," Teyla said.

Ronon grunted. "Carson will be here soon." 

Behind him, Rodney heard one of the Marine's reporting to Weir.

Rodney huffed and finally looked around the room. "Well, I guess as long as we're waiting, I'll see if I can discover why Sheppard came down here." It looked like an ordinary room—or as ordinary as a room in an ancient alien city could look. It was like dozens of others he'd seen since arriving here. 

Except for that console in the corner. Rodney moved to take a closer look. As soon as he touched the console, data started scrolling across the screen, and Rodney struggled to keep up with it, his brain quickly translating the Ancient to English. 

He must've made some kind of noise, because Ronon came over to stand nearby. "What it is?" 

"As far as I can tell, the program runs an Ancient version of a sump pump." Rodney didn't bother looking to see Ronon's confused expression before he continued, "It's basically a machine to pump out water that leaks into the city so it won't flood and drown us all."

"That's good, right?"

"Apparently, there was a leak we didn't detect, and water was pouring into the city. Whatever he did repaired the system before Atlantis could start sinking."

"So that's good."

"Well, yes, obviously, but it could've been bad."

"But it wasn't." Ronon smiled. "It's good."

Carson's arrival interrupted any more discussion. The medical team checked the colonel over and announced him stable. Ronon lifted the still unconscious Sheppard onto the gurney. Teyla grabbed John's hand as they carefully wheeled him to the infirmary. 

*****

Rodney went over the data again, glancing at John's unconscious form every once in a while. He was on his second shift—he, Teyla, and Ronon had been taking turns sitting with John until he regained consciousness. Which Carson assured them would be "soon." He was sleeping off the effects of the ordeal. Thankfully, it was a normal, deep sleep, not a coma or anything nefarious. They just "had to be patient."

Rodney snorted. Not one of his strong suits. 

But Rodney spent the time wisely, trying to figure out what exactly John had done and make sure whatever he'd fixed temporarily, Rodney fixed permanently to prevent any future flooding incidents from destroying their home.

Movement caught Rodney's eye and he looked over to see signs of John's imminent awakening.

Not too long after, John groaned, rolling over and clutching his head. "What the hell happened?"

Putting his tablet away, Rodney said, "As far as I can tell, you saved Atlantis...again." 

"Awesome," John deadpanned. "Can I get some Advil?"

"What's my niece's name?"

"Madison. Can you call Carson please?"

"You have your memory back!" 

"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock. Advil, please?"

"Oh, fine, you big baby. Carson!" With—unfortunately—practiced ease, Rodney moved out of the medical team's way as they checked over John, asking him increasingly ridiculous questions until they were satisfied all of his synapses were firing correctly. 

Rodney took that time to radio Ronon and Teyla, let them know John was _finally_ awake.

Carson and company left with a stern warning for the colonel to take it easy. Rodney reclaimed his seat as Teyla and Ronon strode in.

Teyla smiled when she saw John was awake. "John, you are with us once again?"

"For better or worse," he agreed.

Ronon gave a bark of laughter and moved toward him, but was stopped by a raised hand.

"Please no hugs. I think my head would fall off," Sheppard pleaded.

"Later," Ronon agreed. "How about some cards then?" 

"That I probably could manage."

Ronon produced a deck from somewhere—Rodney wasn't going to think too hard on that—and started shuffling them expertly. He'd been spending way too much downtime with the Marines. As he dealt the cards, Ronon turned to Rodney. "You promised to teach me how to play the pegging game."

"What, cribbage?"

"Yeah."

"I lied," Rodney said. "But Sheppard can do it now that he has his brain back."

"Hey!" chorused both men.

Teyla smiled serenely as she watched her team.

*****

Rodney was going over the specs one last time when Sheppard walked into the control room. He greeted those present by name, as if to show everyone he was back up to snuff.

_Jackass_ , Rodney thought fondly.

What John didn't seem to understand was that the majority of the people on Atlantis would trust Sheppard to save them—even with amnesia—over anyone else.

Except Rodney himself, of course.

As soon as Sheppard was in earshot, Rodney started in on him. "I tried to reconstruct the logs, but most of them are incomprehensible." He flapped his hands in frustration. "How did you know there was a problem?"

Sheppard shrugged. "Um, I heard a voice in my head."

"Does that type of thing happen often?" 

Sheppard glared at him. "I try to ignore the ones that tell me to kill you."

"Har har. Common sense dictates you don't listen to that voice, Colonel."

"It was a nice voice," John defended with a pout. "She said she'd tried to call for help, but no one's mind was clear enough to hear."

"That's a bet I would've lost," Rodney said. "Thought for sure your skull was perpetually half-empty."

"Only a quarter empty," John said. "I think she'd sent out an SOS before, but no one heard. It wasn't until the amnesia that she got through."

"Your defenses were down," Rodney suggested.

"Maybe." Moving a little closer and lowering his voice, Sheppard said, "I do need to thank you for watching my back."

"Huh?" Rodney looked over and away. "No, of course, it's fine. I mean, I was glad to do it."

"It means a lot knowing I can count on you."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Colonel, you didn't even know who I was."

John shrugged. "I still trusted you."

For probably one of the first times in his life, Rodney was rendered speechless. John Sheppard didn't trust quickly or easily, and to say he trusted Rodney when he couldn't even remember who he was....

John smiled, as if he knew exactly what was going through Rodney's head. "Besides, it wasn't all bad. I got to talk to Atlantis."

"You shameless hussy." Rodney paused. "So...."

"No, I don't hear her anymore, Rodney."

"Hmph. Fantastic. Finally get a chance to talk to the city and our Universal Translator is broken."

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of my three stories originally published in the Atlantis gen zine "Jumper Five" in May of 2017. You can find more about this at my [Journal](https://brate7.dreamwidth.org/17852.html).


End file.
